Never again, Tai Shan

It is a pity there is no zero star option – we have never before experience such a lack of service or interest anywhere. We booked a table at Tai Shan Sanctuary in Somerset West for 19.30. It is a small Asian restaurant (NB, not a Thai restaurant per se) with about six or seven tables, and a takeaway counter. We were on time, and it was not more than half full. After 5 or 10 minutes a waitress unceremoniously gave us two menus – it didn’t look as if she really enjoyed her job. A while later we ordered two drinks, two starters (prawn chips, and spring rolls) and two mains. We waited, and waited. And waited. After about 30 minutes the waitress plonked a zip lock bag in front of one of us and said without feeling “There’s your prawn chips” and walked away, so we thought the spring rolls must follow immediately. Sadly, not so. In the meantime the table of two next us, who arrived after us, already had their mains. At some stage the waitress told us without conviction that the food won’t be long, presumably meaning the other starter of spring rolls. About fifty generous minutes after we arrived, and with only a plastic bag of prawn chips to show for it, we decided to throw in the towel. As we were leaving our waitress appeared with both mains and the (starter) spring rolls together. I asked at the counter for the manager, and our waitress pointed to an Asian man preparing food just behind her. He looked at us – he could see we had asked for him – turned around and continued with his preparations. We paid for our drinks and the prawn chips and left. It was very clear that none of the staff were trained in any form of human relations nor how to serve patrons – they were cold and unsmiling (none of them Asians). We also got the impression that the takeaway counter was competing with the sit-down diners for orders, and maybe winning. Never again, Tai Shan.